rover distributor v mallory unilite

[oiler0]

hi ,
can any one help mw on this one ?

i have a new in the box rover sd1 electronic distributor [ 35DE8 ] that i brought some time a go for my 3.9 rv8 with H234 cam in it ,
i hope to get it up and running soon

what is the advantage of fitting a Mallory electronic unlite distributor with 24 deg advance over a rover electronic one ?,
will the 35De8 will do the same job as fair as i can see
or do i sell it and buy a Mallory unlite ?
oiler0

[robinj66]

I am running a secondhand DE8 distributor and haven't had any problems with it so far (3.5 SD1 engine). These units were apparantly prone to wear and the intrnal electronics supposedly produce intermittent faults which are difficult to isolate at high mileage.
As yours is a new unit you shouldn't have any trouble.

Des Hammill (Power tuning RV8 engines) says that the spark intensity is sufficient up to about 7000 rpm. he also says that the advance mechanisms are up to the job too (unless you have a really "wild" cam) and you can always advance the static advance setting if necessary.

If necessary you can fit a Lumenition kit (CFK110) to this unit.

Personally I would fit your new Lucas unit :thumb: but if you decide not to, please let me know how much you want for it

Forgot to say that you can get further opinions from www.v-8.org.uk

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by oiler0

hi ,
can any one help mw on this one ?

i have a new in the box rover sd1 electronic distributor [ 35DE8 ] that i brought some time a go for my 3.9 rv8 with H234 cam in it ,
i hope to get it up and running soon

what is the advantage of fitting a Mallory electronic unlite distributor with 24 deg advance over a rover electronic one ?,
will the 35De8 will do the same job as fair as i can see
or do i sell it and buy a Mallory unlite ?
oiler0

I run a 35dlm8 (similar to yours but the electronics hanging off the side which runs OK after I carried out some mods to it. If yours is what they call an Opus system then I've heard some bad things about them.

A good mod is to reduce how quickly the mechanical advance comes in, which is way too soon for most engines. You can get a spring kit from Real Steel for about a tenner.

One gun metal gray spring and one silver spring gives full advance at about 3500-4000 rpm, two silver springs at about 3000-3500 rpm. (The other springs in the kit are as bad as the Rover ones).

Check this link out to check what dizzy you've got.

PS The gizzmo that they are trying to sell makes no difference, (so I've heard)

http://www.rpiv8.com/electrics-1.htm#overview

Regards,

Pete

[jrv8]

Hi,
The new 35DE8 will be absolutely fine, as long as you connect it through the proper Lucas 6 pin ballast resistor, and use the correct ignition coil .

The DE8 gave problems in the SD1 when the unit had aged and suffered the effects of transferred heat from the engine to the circuit board, but they gave many years of service before that occurred.
Regards
Jim